Page 31 of Waiting for Sunshine

Not having any family to spend the holidays with always had Taylor inviting me, nay, trying to drag me to Colorado to spend Christmas with her family. I opted out this year, just like every other year.Maybe when it doesn’t hurt so much to spend the Holidays without them.

Plus, she had to catch a flight at the ass crack of dawn on the 24th and I had no intentions of going to the airport on Christmas Eve. As much as I love Taylor and her family, I would just rather be alone this time of year.

Most years I go out and see if any homeless shelters needed volunteers or I spend my time at the children’s hospital, reading or passing out gifts. My mom was always doing things like that for others. She had a heart of gold, wanting to give back whenever and wherever she could. There wasn’t a soul on the planet she wouldn’t help.

My whole life I’ve hoped to be more like her every single day. So, I am currently on my way out to read and pass out Christmas gifts at the children’s hospital downtown. I called a few days ago seeing if they could use any more volunteers and they’d eagerly agreed. I wore my sweatshirt that had a reindeer wearing sunglasses on it, always a crowd favorite with the kids, and paired it with skinny jeans and my favorite gray boots.

When I arrived, the hospital was full of Christmas cheer. The kids all wore Santa hats, reindeer ears, or elf hats. They would smile ear to ear as they saw the volunteers coming down the hall with the red bags full of gifts for them.

The parents are always so grateful and tear up as they thanked us for helping make Christmas special for their kids. When my time there came to an end, my cheeks actually hurt from smiling so much. It always filled my heart to be there with the kids, to know I was helping bring a smile or a hint of joy to someone when they were in a less-than-desirable situation.

On my way home I passed by the bar and noticed that it was open. I could have sworn I didn’t see anyone on the schedule for these two days though. I pull into a parking space out front and walk inside. To my surprise, it’s actually pretty crowded in here.

There are a few older men sitting at the booths, and I notice they’re wearing veterans' ball caps. A few stragglers sit at the bar, who look like they wandered in off the street, and Lenny and some of his guys are in their matching Drengr MC leather jackets playing pool. I look around, but I don’t see Ruby, Heather, or Marco anywhere.

When I make it up to the bar one of the men sitting a couple of stools down turns to face me.

“It’s a Christmas miracle that someone as beautiful as you would walk in here.” He says in a raspy voice. When he grins at me he looks so genuine and kind, through the torn and tattered clothes and the way his hair and beard seem unkempt, I see none of it when he smiles. I smile back at him, but before I can say anything in return a voice behind the bar interrupts my thoughts.

“I don’t call her Sunshine for nothing.” I look up and Max is bringing food from the kitchen. He winks at me as he sets the plate down in front of the man.

“Sunshine.” The man repeats softly. “Yep. It’s perfect.”

Right then I hear a dog bark. I look around and see Riley curled up in a booth.

“Hey girl!” I call and she jumps down and over to me. I start to pet her head and she is eating it up. This dog is an attention whore and I love her for it. The man at the bar glances over and chimes in.

“Oh, is that yours?” he asks, looking over at Max. He smiles when he looks over at her.

“Yes sir, Riley there was in the service with me, she’s my girl.” He turns to wash his hands at the bar sink, and I look over at her and smile.

“Lucky girl.” I think to myself. Only, I didn’t think it to myself. I said it. Out loud. Probably not even in a whisper. Heat rises to my cheeks faster than Riley ran over to me when I called her. I turn to look at him, hoping by some chance, he didn’t hear me.

No such luck.

He is staring right at me, smirking as he dries his hands. Completely embarrassed, I try to change the subject as quickly as humanly possible.

“So, um, I didn’t know we were open today. I didn’t see anyone on the schedule.” He was now staring directly at my chest and if it were possible for my face to get any redder, it would have. I look down and notice my rather festive sweatshirt and can’t help but laugh.

“Oh, yeah. It’s pretty popular with the kids.” His attention comes slowly back to my face.

“Kids?” he lifts an eyebrow in question.

“Oh, yeah. I volunteered at the children’s hospital today. I like to go read and help pass out toys on Christmas.” I shrug. The smile that had been plastered to my face all night, reappears as I think about the joy I saw in those kids tonight.

I look up to see Max staring at me, his face growing softer as he watches mine.

“So, you didn’t answer my question,” I say as I fold my arms across my chest.

“Technically, you didn’t ask a question. You made a statement.” He says, giving me an arrogant grin.

“Okay, fine. Could you use some help since we’re open and I’m here?” I offer. He stops what he is doing and studies me for a minute. He stands back and grabs my apron from under the bar.

“I think these fellas would really like that.” He nods at the man at the bar, who promptly turns and smiles at me again, which makes me giggle.

We spend the rest of the night taking turns behind the bar and on the floor. Lenny tried to convince me to join Drenger again, but I told him I would stick to the casual ride every now and then. I couldn’t believe Max had been doing this by himself until I got here.

When it was finally time to close he goes and locks the front door and turns off the open sign. I finish closing out the receipts from the night and shut down the computer.

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